In 2021, I formed Pens & Pilcrows as a mastermind/accountability group for sharing knowledge and supporting our members’ editing endeavors.

The group’s six editors meet online every other Tuesday to discuss their editing lives. Even with such a small group, the members exhibit wide-ranging backgrounds and skills, leading to productive discussions and inspiring interactions.

Values

To be successful, Pens & Pilcrows must operate with consistent values that support learning, sharing, and supporting.

• Learning. As editors, we will never stop learning. Language is ever changing, and we must strive at all times to keep pace.
• Sharing. Pens & Pilcrows members have different skills, different areas of focus, and different clients. We have a lot to share with each other, and we’re better editors and business owners for it.
• Supporting. The editing life is a wonderful life, but it’s not always easy. The group is at its best when we’re celebrating our successes and helping each other when we struggle.

Topics of Discussion

Pens & Pilcrows uses an online whiteboard from Miro to capture lessons from our meetings and to plan discussions. The following are typical discussion topics during our meetings:

• Client acquisition
• Time tracking and data analysis
• Tools such as PerfectIt and macros
• Our editing processes
• Our work lives
• Learning opportunities

Pens & Pilcrows Book Club

Our book club has given us the opportunity to learn from current releases and classics in the field. We even have the occasional author stop by to discuss their work.